Arlington
by countrygirl21
Summary: A little story that popped into my head the other day listening to a CD of mine while I was brainstorming for a different story. This was the result.


**_Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders or the song. They belong to their owners respectively. _**

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**Arlington**

He looked out over the rolling land before him with both sad and excited eyes. Sad because he just saw them bring a young soldier home before he should have been. But excited because he was seeing a face he had wanted to see for a very long time. A woman and a man on crutches paused by the side of one of the headstones as they watched the funeral begin up the hill from them. They both paused and bent their heads in prayer as the preacher could be heard further up from them. They lifted their heads and the man wobbled for a moment as he lifted one of his arms from the crutch and saluted as the guns shot twenty-one shots in the air. The woman had tears running down her face as the flag was handed to a sobbing woman that was the soldier's mother.

_I never thought that this is where I'd settle down,  
I thought I'd die an old man back in my hometown,  
They gave me this plot of land, me and some other men, for a job well done,  
There's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road,  
The man inside he cried the day they brought me home,  
They folded up a flag and told my mom and dad, we're proud of your son_

The woman touched the man's arm and looked up at him, "I know how she feels," she said softly as she wiped tears from her face and smiled up at him, "Curtis, promise me something. If they offer you a position in the States, take it. I couldn't take it if they called me to tell me you hadn't been injured the next time, but worse." He nodded, "I can't make any promises, Ma. But I'll try if I'm offered it." She smiled and knelt by the headstone and laid flowers across the grave, tracing the letters that made up the name. Curtis hobbled to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry you never got to know him, Ma. From all I heard, he was a good man."

_And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,  
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,  
I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've done,  
I can rest in peace, I'm one of the chosen ones, I made it to Arlington_

She nodded, the lump in her throat preventing her from speaking. She wiped the tears from her face, clearing her throat. "But I know him now, that's what's important. And so do you and Trish." She thumped her chest, "We know him here now too. I'll always be indebted to him for coming to you when he did."

_I remember daddy brought me here when I was eight,  
We searched all day to find out where my granddad lay,  
And when we finally found that cross,  
He said, "son this is what it cost to keep us free" Now here I am,  
A thousand stones away from him,  
He recognized me on the first day I came in,  
And it gave me a chill when he clicked his heels, and saluted me._

She stood and brushed the grass from her skirt, looking off to the funeral still in progress. She took his hand in hers and lifted it to her lips, giving it a motherly kiss. "I love you, son. And I love Trish. I don't want either of you to forget that." She straightened and pulled a old black-and-white picture from her coat pocket and set it atop the headstone, touching it one last touch. He recognized the couple in it instantly.

_And everytime I hear twenty-one guns,  
I know they brought another hero home to us_

"Bye, Pop," she whispered hoarsely. "I love you. You're always with us and in our hearts." She smiled up at her son and they walked to the car parked at the edge of the hill.

And Sodapop Curtis watched his daughter and grandson get into the car and drive out of the Arlington Cemetery gates with a heavy, but happy heart. "Bye, Patti," he whispered back. "I'll always love you and stay with you."

_We're thankful for those thankful for the things we've done,  
We can rest in peace, 'cause we are the chosen ones,  
We made it to Arlington, yea dust to dust,  
Don't cry for us, we made it to Arlington_

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_What do you all think? Oh, I wanted to keep it a little bit of a surprise so here it is here; I own Patti, Curtis and Trish. Their only ones I own._


End file.
